Liberia Returns To Jungle Justice As Judiciary, Legislature Sentence Man To Prison For Performing His Duty

Liberian civil society groups have threatened to massively demonstrate against the illegal detention of Mr. Levi Johnson an security officer at the Robert International Airport who was ordered detained at the Monrovia Central Prison for one week and without pay for one month for performing his duty at the airport.

Speaking on a local radio station, the Director of the United Methodist Church Liberia Human Rights Monitor, Jefferson Knight condemned the action of the Supreme Court and members of the House of Representative for ordering the immediate detention of Mr. Johnson based on complain by Mrs. SIE-A-Nyene G. Youh Snowe, wife of Montserrado County Representative Edwin Snowe and also an Associate Justice at the Supreme Court for allegedly disrespecting her at the Airport when she went to receive her husband (Edwin Snowe) at the airport.

The UMC Human Rights Monitor boss said he mobilize all civil society organizations in the country to stage a peaceful demonstration against the action on the part of both the Supreme court and the House of Representatives for illegally detaining this poor RIA employee.

According to report, the entire nightmare of the poor security office started when Justice SIE-A-Nyene G. Youh Snowe bulldozed her to use a rest room which was ordered by the entity’s management not to be used, the officer going by the regulation by his management informed Justice Snowe that the place in question was ordered by authority not to be used, this according to report angered Justice Snowe to complained the officer to her husband (Representative Edwien Snowe) upon his arrival at the airport.

Our source further said, following Justice Snowe complain to her husband, the husband brought this action on the part of the officer to his colleagues at the House of Representatives who ordered the immediate detention of the officer, while at the same time, Justice Snowe also complained to the bench of the Supreme Court about the action of the officer.

Based on this complain by Justice Snowe , on Wednesday, Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor ruled against security officer Johnson, sentencing him to one week imprisonment with immediate effect up to April 5, 2016.

The officer was represented by Cllr. T. Negballee Warner of RIA, while Justice Yuoh was represented by Cllr. Emmanuel James.

Officers Levi Johnson and James Ballah were summoned on March 28, 2016, in connection with disrespectful behavior shown to Justice Yuoh on the 26th day of March at the RIA by Officer Johnson.

In his submission to the Writ on March 29, 2016, Cllr. Warner expressed his regrets over the action of Officer Johnson.

Observers who spoke to this outlet condemned the action of the Supreme Court for putting behind bars the poor security officer for ‘simply doing’ his assigned job.

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Joel Cholo Brooks is a Liberian journalist who previously worked for several international news outlets including the BBC African Service. He is the CEO of the Global News Network which publishes two local weeklies, The Star and The GNN-Liberia Newspapers. He is a member of the Press Union Of Liberia (PUL) since 1986, and several other international organizations of journalists, and is currently contributing to the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation as Liberia Correspondent.